BORD Failte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) are to privatise a majority stake in their Gulliver on line information and reservations service.

The two agencies, which have spent about £9 million developing the system over the past five years, said an international partner would aid Gulliver's further commercial development.

The majority stake may be acquired by a consortium rather than by a single company.

The exact size of the stake being sold has yet to be disclosed, but it could be up to 70 per cent.

The system, which has the potential to be sold overseas to other tourist boards, is worth about £10 million in its present state, according to industry sources.

Payment may be in the form of technology transfer rather than cash, but any funds generated are expected to be reinvested in the system.

Gulliver is a tourist information and reservations system which has a database of accommodation, services and attractions in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. Rooms "can also be booked through Gulliver and last year £9 million in business was conducted using the system. Gulliver has since been updated and new services such as an AA route planner have been added.

More than 90 per cent of registered tourist accommodation providers in Ireland are members of the system, while about half of those have space which can be booked electronically using Gulliver.

Bord Failte and the NITB currently use Gulliver in their regional and overseas tourist offices, but it is hoped that the new partner would enable to system to be carried on at least one of the global information distribution systems used by the travel industry.

Bord Failte's director general, Mr Matt McNulty, said the two agencies want a partner that would have the technological experience needed to help expand the system. "We're not just looking to sell a large share holding", he said. Asked how the new investor would get a return, Mr McNulty said the potential for selling the Gulliver system to other tourist boards was "huge".